Railway-tie



(NO Modem J PORTER v RAILWAY TIE. 7 No. 426,319. Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

.line a: a; of Fig. 1.

UNITED 3 STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

JOHN PORTER, OF ELDoEA, IOWA.

RAILWAY-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 426,319, dated April 22, 1890.

Application filed January 6, 1890. Serial No. 335,966. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN PORTER, a resident of Eldora, in the county of Hardin and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Ties; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in railway-ties, the object being to provide a simple tie composed of few parts and possessing rigidity, elasticity, and durability.

.A further object is to provide a tie which will regulate the gage for straight or curved track, will hold the rails against accidental displacement caused by the rapid movement of heavily-laden trains, and thus prevent the derailment of trains.

A still further object is to prevent the rocking of the rails and to protect them against undue strain and wear where the greatest strain and pressure are; and a still further ob- Ject is to provide a tie which will be proof against endwise or lateral movement and to provide for expansion and contraction and prevent the creeping of rails.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 1 is a view in section on Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, and Fig. 4 shows a modified form of locking-plate.

A A represent a pair of similar-shaped blocks or shoes, made of wood or other suitable material and adapted to form supports for the rails. These blocks or shoes, if of wood, may be hewn out in the usual manner, and they are preferably about a third or a quarter the length of ordinary ties and cut off with beveled or sloping inner ends 1 1, which abut against the ballast forming the bed of the track, to prevent endwise movement of the ties, to furnish a more extensive bearing for the bottoms of the blocks or shoes as well as for the ends, and to exert a constant tendency toward a separation of the blocks.

B represents the metal portion of the tie.

This consists of a plate of metal which reaches across from the blocks or shoes AA .and connects them securely together. Near the outer ends of these metal plates and in position to receive the outer flange of the base of the rails loops 2 2 are formed by a double fold in the plate.

The manner of securingproperand uniform gage of track and absolute protection from displacement of rails or change of gage resulting from the movement of trains over the line of roadway is to make the loops all the same distance apart for the standard gage and to vary the distance apart for adaptability to curves of various degrees of curvature, so that the proper gage is easily made on either direct alignment or curvature. In other words, the length of plate-looping and the drilling in it will be governed by the size of rail and width of gage desired. The metal plate is held down to the wooden portion by means of screws or similar devices 3 3, and by the formation of the loops 2 2 slight elasticity is given to the plate at this point, which creates a uniform pressure and tension upon the flange of the rail at all times. The rails are held in place against the loop by lockingplates 5 5. These plates may be in different forms, as shown in the drawings, and be held in place by a single screw 6 on top of the wooden portion; or they may be extended far enough to lap over at the ends '7 7 and be secured at this point to the sides of the ties. The central portion is provided on the edges with flanges 8 S, which extend downward on an angle of about forty-five degrees, the object being to form more bearing-surface to facilitate the shedding of water, and principally to prevent lateral movement of the ties. The plates are made by machinery in large quantities and rolled or otherwise formed into the required shape, and holes are formed for the screws at uniform distances apart, and either by the position of these holes or the loops the gage is regulated and all measuring in track-work is dispensed with. The ties are placed in position and then tamped up in the usual manner beneath the flanged central portion of the ties and between the bevel inner ends of the wooden blocks or shoes. The ballast is also tamped around the ties in the usual manner. The result is that the road-bed is protected from the washingout caused by heavy rain-falls; it is held together; the rails are prevented from spreading, working loose; the ties are prevented "from slipping endwise or laterally, and the Wooden portion is protected.

In addition to the points mentioned the rails are prevented from creeping by means of the screw or similar device 12 at the middle, which enters a notch in the flange of the rail. While this prevents creeping of the rails, it permits the free expansion and contraction of the rails.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the particular construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway-tie, the combination, with a pair of blocks having beveled ends, of a plate connecting said blocks, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a pair of blocks having beveled inner ends, of a connectingplate secured to the blocks, the outer ends of said plate being folded into loop form to receive the outer flanges of the rails, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a pair of blocks having beveled inner ends, of a connectingplate having folded-loops near the ends to receive the outer flanges of the rails, flanges on its outer edges, and locking-plates adapted to lap over the inner flanges of the rails, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a pair of blocks, the connecting-plate having folded loops formed therein to receive the outer flanges of the rails, of locking-plates and means for preventing creeping of the rails, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a pair of blocks constructed to prevent end wise movement, of the connecting-plate having folded loops to receive the outer flanges of the rails, lockingplates which lap over the inner flanges of the rails and over the edges of the blocks, and devices for holding the several parts of the ties and rail in place, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two'subscribing witnesses.

JOHN PORTER.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. DRURY, V. E. Honons. 

